Slowly slowly take your left ear to your left shoulder while exhaling.

Repeat step number 7 and 8 five times.

Take your face to extreme right with a feeling of stretch on neck while exhaling and vice versa, slowly. Five rounds.

Rotate your head clockwise and anti clockwise five rounds.

Benefits : This Mudra is very useful as a preventive measure against the swelling,
inflammation and unhealthy growth of the tonsils. Strengthens neck and useful for preventive cervical spondalitis. Helpful in balancing hypo and hyper thyroids. Reduces stress, tension and depression.

Hands in and out breathing :

Stretch out your arms in front , in level with your shoulders and bring palms together

Inhaling spread your arms sideways in horizontal plane

While exhaling bring the arms forward with palms touching each other

Repeat 5 times, making your arm movements, continuous and synchronizing with the breath flowing in and out rhythmically

Relax in Tadasana.

Feel the changes in the breath and the body especially the arms, shoulders and the back of the neck.

Standing : Hands Stretch Breathing :

Stand erect with feet together relaxed by the side of the body

Gently bring your hands in front of the chest

Interlock the fingers and place the palms on the chest

Collapse and relax yours shoulders

Close your eyes Stage 1(Horizontal) 90 degrees

While inhaling stretch the arms straight out in front of your body so that the arms at shoulder level.

At the same time twist the hands so that the palms face outwards

Fully stretch the arms but do not strain

Now while exhaling reverse the process and bring the palms back on to the chest

Collapse the shoulders again

This is one round repeat 5 times Stage 2(135 Degree)

Repeat the same movement now stretching the arms above the forehead at an angle of 135degree

Repeat 5 times Stage 3(Vertical) 180 Degrees.

Again repeat the same movements this time stretching the arms vertically above the head While moving up and down, move the palms close to the nose tip.

Repeat 5 times

Notes: Collapse the shoulders at the beginning and end of each cycle

Maintain perfect awareness of the breathing

Exhalation should be greater than inhalation

If required it can be practiced sitting in chair too. Properly synchronize the breathing with hand movements3.

Standing : Ankles Stretch Breathing :

Open the eyes and fix your gaze on a point on the wall ahead. place the palms on front of your thighs

Repeat 5 times keeping the movement of hands and ankles continuous, breathing in synchronization.

Feel the stretch from your ankles up to finger tips as you reach upwards.

Relax in standing position, hands by the side of the thighs.

Observe your breath and enjoy the stability for a few seconds

Sitting : Tiger Breathing :

Come to Diamond posture

Lean forward and place the hands flat on the floor in line with the shoulders with fingers pointing forward.

Arms, thighs and heels should be about one shoulder width apart.

The arms and thighs are perpendicular to the floor.

While inhaling raise the head and look at the ceiling.

At the same time depress the spine making it concave.

While exhaling arch the spine upwards and bend the head downwards bringing the chin towards the chest.

Thins continues one round of tiger breathing

Repeat 5 rounds

Notes: Before starting practice ensure that you are comfortable while standing on all fours

Coordinate the movements of breathing

Keep the eyes closed and practice with awareness

Do not bend the arms or move the thighs forwards and backwards

Sitting : Rabbit (Sasank Asana) Breathing (Moon Posture) :

Take the hands behind the back make a fist of the right hand and hold the right wrist with the left hand

Relax the shoulders

While inhaling bend backwards from the waist opening up the chest

While exhaling slowly bend forward from the waist bringing the forehead on to the ground in front of the knees. Collapse the shoulders

While inhaling slowly come up to the vertical position and then slightly lean back wards.

This forms one round. continue 10 rounds Notes

Keep the shoulders collapsed

You can separate the knees as per your comfort to avoid unnecessary pressure on the abdomen and chest

Synchronize breathing with movement.

Keep your eyes closed maintain breath awareness

c) Prone : * Bhujangasana breathing.

Bhujanasana Breathing :

Steps: Sanskrit word Bhujang means cobra. One makes a shape like of cobra.

Pre-position : Prone Position

Step 1 : Bring both the hands near the chest and place palms on the ground. Touch the forehead on the ground.

Step 2 : Inhale and raise the forehead and chin, bend neck as much as possible and start raising the shoulders at ease giving pressure to each Vertebra of the backbone. Raise the chest till the hands become straight. Take the neck back, start normal breathing.

Position :
Initially you will feel the weight to be on both the hands, but with practice you can shift this to the spinal cord. In the final position keep the hands straight, chest forward. Keep the spine in arch.

Releasing :

Inhale and exhale, with the support of the spinal column, start lowering the shoulders then abdomen touching the floor and then chest and then forehead.

Place the chin on floor and hands back to the original position. Attain prone position.

Duration :
Initially practice it for 5 to 10 second. After practicing it for few days you can increase the repetitions, once you are able to do 5 repetitions easily, then reduce the repetitions and increase the time up to 1 min.

Benefits :
This breathing is concerned with the spinal cord and the muscles of the stomach. Good for digestive system and relieving back pains and improves blood circulation.

Contraindications :

Pregnant women should avoid. Jerks and unbearable strains should be avoided.

Shalbhasana Breathing :

In sanskrit ‘Shalabha’ means a grasshopper or a locust. In this asana the upper part of the body upto the umbilicus are on the ground. Both the legs from the waist down are raised which look like the hind part of a grasshopper.

Steps :

Lie on the floor in a prone position (i.e. on the stomach.) hands by the side of the body, legs apart.

Joining the toes and heels, and keep the legs straight.

Let the chin be on the floor.

By contracting the muscles of the waist and lower abdomen start inhale and raise both the legs together.

Raise the legs higher, if possible, by further contraction of muscles of waist.

Do not bend the legs at knee joint.

Slowly exhale and release the asana by relaxing the muscles of waist and buttocks.

Repeat the steps 5 rounds.

Lower the legs in a controlled manner, place the forehead on the floor.

Turn the face to one side.

Place the hands by the side of the body.

BENEFITS :

Improves muscle tone of the back, waist & abdomen.

Complaints like backache during menstrual period are alleviated by regular practice of this asana.

While inhaling slowly raise the right leg without bending the knee, as far as comfortable

While exhaling return the leg to the floor as slowly as possible

Repeat the practice with left leg

This is one round perform 10 times.

Notes :If you need you can keep the arms by the side of your body with the palms facing the floor at any convenient position or at shoulder level

Do not bend the knee through out practice

Do not disturb the leg lying straight on the ground in order to be able to raise the other leg Even if you can, do not raise the leg beyond 90 degree.

Perfectly synchronize the breathing with movements

Maintain perfect breath awareness during practice

Straight Legs Breathing ( Both Legs)

Lay down on your back.

As you get stronger, you can do the leg raising exercise with both legs.

Avoid this exercise if you have lower back pain

Lie on the back with legs together, hands stretched out over the head, biceps touching the ears and palms facing the ceiling

While inhaling slowly raise both the legs without bending at the knees as far as comfortable

While exhaling return the legs to the floor as slowly as possible

Perform 5 times

Notes : In case of both legs, as you exhale and bring down the legs, there will be a tendency for them to fall down too rapidly as they come close to the floor. So use the strength and have control over the movement

Slow and deep breathing.

Synchronize inhalations and exhalations with the physical movements.

Easy, effortless and continuous physical movements.

Maintain awareness.

In case of straight leg raise breathing don’t bend the knees and don’t take the leg(s) beyond 90°)